Goods and Services Tax (GST) Day is annually observed on 1st July to commemorate the implementation of the GST system, a comprehensive indirect tax levied on the supply of goods and services in India.
- 1st July 2023 marks the observance of the 6th GST Day which commemorates the 6th anniversary of GST coming into force (1st July 2017).
Background:
i.On 1st July, 2017, GST laws were implemented, replacing multiple indirect taxes such as excise duty, service tax, value-added tax (VAT), and others levied by the Central and State Governments.
ii.On 30th June 2018, the Government of India announced the decision to celebrate the 1st July of every year as the GST Day.
- The first-ever GST day was observed on 1st July 2018, which marked the first anniversary of the Implementation of GST.
Events 2023:
- Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs presided over as the chief guest of the celebrations of the 6th GST Day organised at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Delhi.
- Two taxpayers, namely, Ji Shoji India Pvt. Ltd. and Rajan Agro Green Foods Pvt ltd also received commendation from the MSME category.
Key People:
Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance, Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary of Revenue; Vivek Johri, Chairperson of CBIC, and Members of the GST Council also participated in the event.
Genesis of GST:
i.The idea of a nationwide GST in India was first proposed by the Kelkar Task Force on Indirect taxes in 2000.
Objective: To replace the existing complex and fragmented tax structure with a unified system which will simplify compliance, reduce tax cascading, and promote economic integration.
ii.The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, which aimed to amend the Constitution to enable the implementation of GST, was introduced in Parliament and was passed in 2015.
iii.The bill was later passed in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha in August 2016 and received the assent of the President on 8th September 2016.
iv.The GST Council was notified with effect from 15th September 2016 and the office of the GST Council Secretariat was established to assist the GST Council.On 1st July 2017, GST laws were implemented.
Features of GST:
Dual Structure: The GST operates under dual structure: Central GST (CGST) levied by the Central Government and the State GST (SGST) levied by the State Governments.
- For Inter-state transactions, Integrated GST (IGST) is applicable, which is collected by the Central Government and apportioned to the respective State.
- GST is levied at each stage of the supply chain, from the manufacturer to the consumer.It is applied to the value addition at each stage and reduce the burden on the end consumer.
Gross GST Revenue – June 2023:
The gross GST revenue collected by the end of June 2023 is Rs 1,61,497 crore. For the 4th time, the gross GST collection has crossed Rs. 1.60 lakh crore mark.
- This includes Rs 31,013 crore CGST, Rs 38,292 crore SGST and Rs 80,292 crore IGST(including Rs 39,035 crore collected on import of goods) and Rs 11,900 crore cess (including Rs 1,028 crore collected on import of goods).
- The government has settled Rs 36,224 crore to CGST and Rs 30,269 crore to SGST from IGST.
- The total revenue of the Centre and the States in the month of June 2023 after the regular settlement is Rs 67,237 crore for CGST and Rs 68,561 crore for SGST.
- The revenue of June 2023 is 12% higher than the GST revenues of June 2022.
About GST Council :-
As per Article 279A (4), the GST Council will make recommendations to the Union and the States on important issues related to GST, like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws, principles that govern Place of Supply, threshold limits.
- Chairperson of GST Council is Union Finance Minister Smt.Nirmala Sitharaman
